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Exclusive: Mark Padilla has been appointed as President of Worldwide Sales and Acquisitions at Jack and Rebecca Campbell’s indie film sales and production company, Jackrabbit Media.

An industry veteran with over two decades of experience in independent film, Padilla brings extensive knowledge and expertise to Jackrabbit, which will be instrumental in the company’s ongoing growth and success.

Padilla has executive produced starry indies including The Doorman with Ruby Rose and Jean Reno, The Virtuoso with Anthony Hopkins, and Think Like a Dog with Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox. He has also held executive positions at such companies as Double Dutch International, Myriad Pictures, Essential Entertainment, Arclight Films and Dk Media, worked as an international acquisitions consultant for multiple distribution companies worldwide, and served as a jury member for assorted film festivals.

In addition to his work in the industry, Padilla currently teaches two courses at UCLA Extension that...

Any filmmaker is lucky to make a single cult classic in their career. Outside of the masters of the genre, it’s rare for someone to helm more than one movie that resonates with a passionate fanbase, regardless of size, over the course of multiple decades – but Jeff Lieberman earned the distinction despite only having five films to his name.

Lieberman made his directorial debut with 1976’s man-eating worm flick Squirm and quickly followed it up with 1978’s killer trip Blue Sunshine. 1981 saw the release of his backwoods slasher Just Before Dawn, after which his feature output slowed considerably. He directed the 1988 sci-fi comedy Remote Control and penned the script for 1994’s The NeverEnding Story III before making his return to horror in 2004 with his final film to date, Satan’s Little Helper.

Ostensibly a cheap, direct-to-video slasher, Satan’s Little Helper – like the rest of Lieberman’s output – subverts expectations.

Executive most recently worked in sales at Voltage Pictures.

Danielle Gasher has left her sales role at Voltage Pictures and joined Gravitas Ventures as senior director of acquisitions.

Gasher will report to founder and CEO Nolan Gallagher and jointly lead the acquisitions department with Bill Guentzler, identifying titles for the new Gravitas Premiere label and ongoing slate of more than 250 films a year.

The Gravitas Premiere label will orchestrate wide theatrical releases on approximately four cast-driven films a year with significant P&a support. The first title, Mack & Rita starring Diane Keaton and directed by Katie Aselton, debuted exclusively in...

Exclusive: A key character will be returning to Amazon Prime Video’s Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. Abbie Cornish, who portrayed Cathy Mueller in Season 1, will be back to reprise the role in the recently announced fourth season.

There has been a lingering mystery surrounding Cathy Mueller, Ryan’s love interest in the first season, as well as in the books. The character was never written out of the show, she just disappeared. There was not a single reference of her throughout Season 2, and the only clue given was Ryan (John Krasinski) sleeping with another woman early on in the season, and then later on saying he’s single.

There is no information how Cathy will be reintroduced on the show. Her return could be set up in the upcoming third season, production on which recently wrapped with a premiere date still Tbd.

Season 3 finds Jack Ryan (Krasinski) on the...

Exclusive: Abbie Cornish (Jack Ryan) and Laz Alonso (The Boys) have signed on to star in Detained, a psychological thriller from director Felipe Mucci (Two Deaths of Henry Baker), which counts Justin H. Min (The Umbrella Academy), John Patrick Amedori (Dear White People), Silas Weir Mitchell (Grimm), Moon Bloodgood (Falling Skies), Josefine Lindegaard (The Comeback Trail) and Breeda Wool (Mr. Mercedes) amongst its supporting cast.

The film follows a woman (Cornish) who wakes up in a police interrogation room with no memory of the night prior. The accusations against her may have life-altering implications. However, in this isolated police station, something is not quite right.

Mucci wrote the script with Jeremy Palmer. Kinogo Pictures’ Ryan Scaringe is producing, with Amy Lippens serving as co-producer. Cornish and Alonso are exec producing alongside Monica Sufar, who is also handling sales for the film.

Cornish is...

The Hollywood Critics Assn. has scrapped its in-person Hca TV Awards, and will instead move the first-ever ceremony to a virtual event a week later.

Hca chairman Scott Menzel said the decision was made due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Los Angeles County and the US. Instead, the show will stream on the Hca’s official YouTube channel at 5 p.m. on Aug. 29.

“We spent the last two weeks going back and forth, seeing if the cases went down, and it’s just not going,” Menzel said. “Everything just seems to be on an upward tick. The most important thing for any event like this is that we have to look at the people in attendance and we decided this morning. I know that this seems like a last minute decision but given the numbers and how badly it’s been impacting the industry, this just seemed...

While the other streaming services set up recurring franchises, Hulu has opted to get a bit more experimental with its original offerings in August 2021.

Hulu’s list of new releases this month is highlighted by three original series concepts with promise. Reservation Dogs premieres on August 9. Co-created by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), this story will follow four indigenous teenagers in Oklahoma as they stave off boredom and adulthood. Next up is Nine Perfect Strangers on August 18. This miniseries, based on a book of the same name, is produced by David E. Kelley and features staggering cast of Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Luke Evans, Samara Weaving, and more.

Only Murders in the Building is likely the biggest thing to look forward to in August though. Premiering on August 31, this comedy stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez as three true crime-obsessed friends who stumble into a true crime of their own.

Exclusive: Sacred Hunger, the Booker Prize-winning novel by Barry Unsworth, is set for a small-screen remake.

Plan B and Marshall exec producer Chris Bongirne and his production company Smokestack Films have teamed up with financier Stephen Leist to acquire the rights to the book, which follows the journey of a struggling young English doctor aboard 18th century slave ship the Liverpool Merchant.

The book was published in 1992 and it shared the Booker Prize that year with Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient, which went on to become Anthony Minghella’s Oscar-winning film starring Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Sacred Hunger begins when the ship is stricken by disease, watching as its crew and their cargo of African prisoners, meant for the slave trade, unite in mutiny, a move that will ultimately free both from the period’s oppressive and dehumanizing grip of commerce and greed.

Bongirne recently exec produced...

Here’s the latest episode of the The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the ever-growing podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro budget indie films to bigger budget studio films and everything in-between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their film making experiences from directors, writers, producers, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmakers Podcast #221: Directing two-time Oscar-winning Anthony Hopkins & other stars in an indie film,...

Actor David Morse joins Josh and Joe to talk about his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Slaughter Rule (2002)

Dancer In The Dark (2000)

A History Of Violence (2005)

The Indian Runner (1991)

Inside Moves (1980) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Death Wish (1974) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary

The Virtuoso (2021)

The Crossing Guard (1995)

Prototype (1983)

Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann (1991)

Seven Beauties (1975)

Swept Away (1974)

Mimic (1997)

Hannibal (2001)

Mean Streets (1973)

Taxi Driver (1976) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary

The Godfather Part II (1974) – Katt Shea’s trailer commentary

Being There (1979) – Alan Spencer’s trailer commentary

The Ghost of Peter Sellers (2018)

A Shot In The Dark (1964) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary

Midnight Cowboy (1969) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Papillon (1973)

Straight Time (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Straw Dogs (1971) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Wait Until Dark (1967) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Catch 22 (1970) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

Desperate Hours (1990)

The Bounty...

Liam Neeson thriller “The Marksman” defied pandemic norms with a three-month theatrical window. Five months after its release, it’s now available to rent at the standard-price $5.99 after a late-April Premium VOD debut. It claimed the #1 spot on all charts calculated after the mid-week shift. That includes FandangoNow, which ranks entries by the revenue accrued. That means it had more than triple the number of rentals as their #2 title, “Nobody,” which still costs $19.99.

VOD platforms otherwise saw ongoing success for familiar films, including “The Little Things.” The Denzel Washington action title was #1 at Spectrum, which as usual lags in reporting.

Noteworthy this week is the debut of three fresh titles, two of which are recent releases that went directly to standard pricing and saw immediate interest. “Together Together,” a comedy starring Patti Harrison and Ed Helms, and “French Exit” both saw traction. However, the real breakout is “North Hollywood,” apparently...

Anti-heroes who determinedly set out to interprete the ambiguities of the situations they encounter as they struggle to survive in the film noir genre have long remained timely and provocative. Writer-director-producer Nick Stagliano has once again provena his skill in a making a viscerally modern crime thriller by creating a story that thrives on the […]

The post Interview: Nick Stagliano Talks The Virtuoso (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.

Executive previously served at Double Dutch International.

Heading into next month’s virtual Cannes market Voltage Pictures has promoted Danielle Gasher to director of international sales with immediate effect.

Gasher becomes a senior member of the company’s international sales executive team covering Voltage Pictures’ film slate. She will report directly to president and COO Jonathan Deckter, who made the announcement on Monday (May 17).

The new arrival joined Voltage as manager of international sales and previously worked as sales manager for Toronto-based production and sales company Double Dutch International (Ddi).

At Ddi she worked across various territories and sold titles...

A simple price change created this week’s biggest shift in VOD viewing. “The Little Things,” the Denzel Washington-starring serial killer thriller that debuted day-and-date in theaters and on HBO Max, dropped its $19.99 premium VOD to $5.99. It rose to #1 at Apple TV and gained top-10 showings at FandangoNow and Google Play. Spectrum Cable’s chart should pick it up this week.

In its second week of PVOD play, “The Marksman” notched #1 at FandangoNow, #2 at Apple TV, and #3 at Google Play. That’s a strong response for the last two which, unlike FandangoNow, list by number of rentals rather than revenue.

“Nomadland,” newly reduced in price at Spectrum, placed #1 there. The Best Picture winner fell elsewhere, notching lower slots at Apple TV and GooglePlay. Original Screenplay winner “Promising Young Woman,” a presence for four months in PVOD and now VOD, was the only other Oscar recipient to remain on the lists.

Theaters may be reopening, but physical media is forever — Alonso Duralde spotlights the best new DVDs and Blu-rays

New Indie

Peter Sarsgaard and Rashida Jones make a somewhat unusual couple in “The Sound of Silence” (IFC Films), a somewhat unusual film. And it’s not that Sarsgaard and Jones don’t have chemistry to burn; it’s that the movie operates at its own pace while diving deeply into the Sarsgaard character’s obsessions with the thrums and throbs and vibrations of our day-to-day lives. He “tunes” his clients’ New York City apartments, looking for the sounds (whether they’re on the outside or coming from household appliances) that are disturbing the tenants, and Jones plays a social worker who turns to him for his unique services. Somewhere between “The Conversation” and last year’s “Sound of Metal,” it’s a uniquely eccentric tale that might make you pay more...

On VOD, Universal’s “Nobody” and the debut of the latest Liam Neeson action film, “The Marksman,” topped the charts along with “Nomadland.” The Bob Odenkirk thriller “Nobody” has been overall the top performer for its initial three weeks of $19.99 home play (with the studio collecting $16 for each rental). It is the sole title to make all four charts, placing #1 at GooglePlay and Spectrum, second and fifth at Fandango and Apple TV. Two million rentals would mean $32 million in studio rentals.

For “The Marksman,” Open Road held to the pre-pandemic 75 day window, grossing a little under $16 million in domestic theaters, before going PVOD. It took #1 at FandangoNow, #2 at Apple TV, and #3 at GooglePlay.

“Nomadland” took the final top spot, placing first at Apple TV at $5.99 after a PVOD release (and while it still runs on Hulu). It is #9 at GooglePlay and #5 at FandangoNow, where it ranks highest among non-pvod titles...

Photo: ‘The Virtuoso’/Lionsgate I know one thing for certain: this movie is an experience and a perplexing experience at that. While watching the film, I kept asking myself: is this real? Is this really the movie? And it is, all of it, the good and the bad, because this movie is some combination of both good and bad, falling somewhere between the “so bad, it’s good” or so bad it’s bad disambiguation. I still haven’t made up my mind, but it’s definitely not good in the classic sense of “good”. But who wants to be good when you’re a paid killer? Well, the Virtuoso, played by a steely Anson Mount, just might want to be, and this desire becomes the main source of conflict in the film, both emotionally and narratively; so the film is as much about the Virtuoso’s potential redemption as it is anything else.

(Interactive chart with estimates below)

Together Together topped the specialty box office for a second week in a row. The Bleecker Street comedy starring Ed Helms broke the million-dollar cume mark this week, hauling a modest $313,000 over the weekend.

Vertical Entertainment’s debut of Four Good Days, starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis, wasn’t too far behind as it drew relatively big audiences averaging $1017 per screen.

The Rodrigo García-directed drama, based on a true story by Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post writer Eli Saslow, follows 31-year-old Molly (Kunis) who begs her estranged mother Deb (Close) for help fighting a fierce battle against the demons that have derailed her life. Despite all she has learned over a decade of disappointment, grief, and rage, Deb throws herself into one last attempt to save her beloved daughter from the deadly and merciless grip of heroin addiction.

Four Good Days broke $300K on 298 screens,...

This weekend saw the debut of two appealing studio titles, neither of which will be in theaters. “Without Remorse,” Paramount’s relaunch of their Tom Clancy franchise and “The Mitchells vs the Machines,” from Sony Animation, launched on Amazon Prime and Netflix, respectively, free to subscribers. On the Netflix chart, “Mitchells” immediately placed at #1.

The cinemas could have used their momentum. Last weekend, “Mortal Kombat” and “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” surpassed expectations with openings over $20 million. This weekend, the only new release was horror film “Separation,” which earned $1.8 million. “Mortal” and “Demon.” each fell over 70 percent.

It isn’t unusual for big openers to drop half or more in their second weeks, but new competition opening is usually a contributing factor. It also appears that the titles’ audiences showed less crossover interest. Total business for the weekend will be around $24 million, about 60 percent less than last week.

Exhibitors hoped for momentum,...

Oscar nominee Glenn Close and Mila Kunis star as a mother-and-daughter duo fighting to regain the love and trust that once held them together in the Rodrigo García-directed drama, Four Good Days, in select theaters today via Vertical Entertainment.

Based on a true story by Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post writer Eli Saslow, the pic follows 31-year-old Molly (Kunis) who begs her estranged mother Deb (Close) for help fighting a fierce battle against the demons that have derailed her life. Despite all she has learned over a decade of disappointment, grief, and rage, Deb throws herself into one last attempt to save her beloved daughter from the deadly and merciless grip of heroin addiction.

Stephen Root, Joshua Leonard, and Sam Hennings co-star. The film premiered at last year’s Sundance festival before being acquired by Vertical. Four Good Days will be released on digital platforms on May 21.

See the trailer below.

So, here’s another example of a film that sports a somewhat misleading, or maybe a tad confusing title. The word in question is one usually attached to musicians like concert pianists or classical violinists. But no, this concerns another profession entirely. Although…they do share quite a bit in common. There’s the study, solitary dedication, practice, and planning. A huge part of the latter is timing, namely hitting the beats, and releasing those notes at the exact, precise moment for the proper impact. Now this film’s holder of this title doesn’t deal with notes. More often than not, it’s bullets. He’s a highly-paid hitman, one that strikes from the shadows, liquidating swiftly than disappearing into the ether. leaving no trace of his presence. His services are so lauded and coveted that he’s only known as The Virtuoso.

The film opens at the conclusion...

Less than a week after Anthony Hopkins won his second Academy Award for “The Father,” a dud called “The Virtuoso” arrives to make you wonder if they gave it to the wrong guy. The lousy-follow-up phenomenon happens all the time, but rarely does an Oscar winner have a turkey already waiting in the wings to undermine a career-high achievement.

Hopkins isn’t awful in “The Virtuoso,” but the movie that surrounds him is. It’s a cut-rate thriller about a nameless hit man (Anson Mount) so busy telling audiences how professional he is — via such affirmational observations as “You’re a professional, an expert dedicated to timing and precision” — that he doesn’t seem to notice his latest assignment is a setup.

The killer in question lives in a cabin in the woods, as so many movie assassins do. But instead of having to fight off younger comers eager to speed his retirement along,...

You know you’re in the realm of the archetype when a movie’s closing credits favor descriptors over character names: The Waitress, The Loner, The Mentor — and, first and foremost, The Virtuoso’s nameless title mercenary. Played by Anson Mount in a tight-jawed register, he’s a killer for hire whose armor is starting to crack, ever so slightly, after a hit gone wrong. But it takes more than a little guilt to stop a killer from killing, and it takes more than a handful of archetypes and a smorgasbord of film noir tropes to make a gripping ...

The Virtuoso Lionsgate Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Nick Stagliano Writer: James C. Wolf Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Abbie Cornish, Anson Mount, Eddie Marsan, Diora Baird, David Morse Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 4/8/21 Opens: April 30, 2021 Once back in high school when we were sitting around […]

The post The Virtuoso Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Two-time Oscar Winner Anthony Hopkins stars in The Virtuoso which opens this Friday, April 30th at the following St. Louis-area theaters: The Marcus Arnold, The Marcus Town Square 12 in Darden Prairie, Mo, and the Marcus O’Fallon in O’Fallon, Il

This trailer sure looks exciting:

Danger, deception, and murder descend upon a sleepy country town when a professional assassin (Anson Mount) accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic mentor and boss (Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins). Given only where and when along with a cryptic clue, the methodical hit man must identify his mysterious mark from among several possible targets, including a local sheriff (David Morse). Meanwhile, a chance encounter with an alluring woman (Abbie Cornish) at the town’s rustic diner threatens to derail his mission in this noir-style cloak-and-dagger thriller.

The Virtuoso is rated R for violence, sexuality/nudity and language. It stars Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish, EddieMarsan,...

The longest awards season in modern times will be remembered for featuring one of the best lineups of acting nominees in Oscars history. This year’s Best Actor and Best Actress races came down to the wire with Anthony Hopkins and Frances McDormand pulling off unexpected wins on Sunday night over favored nominees such as Chadwick Boseman in Best Actor and Viola Davis and Carey Mulligan in Best Actress. In the supporting categories, the results ended up being a little more obvious, but the crop of talent was incredible.

What do the 20 acting nominees at the 2021 Oscars have coming up next? Read on to find out.

Best Actor

Riz Ahmed has a number of projects in the works, including a long-discussed adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” He will also serve as executive producer and voice actor in “Flee,” an animated documentary that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this year.

The Virtuoso Trailer — Nick Stagliano‘s The Virtuoso (2021) movie trailer has been released by Lionsgate. The Virtuoso trailer stars Anson Mount, Anthony Hopkins, Abbie Cornish, David Morse, Richard Brake, Chris Perfetti, Shay Guthrie, Lory Molino, Blaise Corrigan, Ryan Jonze, Jenna Hellmuth, Estelle Girard Parks, Basil Kershner, and Diora Baird. Crew James C. Wolf wrote [...]

Continue reading: The Virtuoso Trailer: Anthony Hopkins hires assassin Anson Mount to Kill a Mysterious Target in Nick Stagliano’s 2021 Movie...

The Virtuoso Starring Starring Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish and Anthony Hopkins will be released Digital/VOD/Limited Theatrical April 30. Here’s the trailer:

Danger, deception, and murder descend upon a sleepy country town when a professional assassin (Anson Mount) accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic mentor and boss (Oscar® winner Anthony Hopkins). Given only where and when along with a cryptic clue, the methodical hit man must identify his mysterious mark from among several possible targets, including a local sheriff (David Morse). Meanwhile, a chance encounter with an alluring woman (Abbie Cornish) at the town’s rustic diner threatens to derail his mission in this noir-style cloak-and-dagger thriller.

The Virtuoso stars Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish, Eddie Marsan, Richard Brake, with David Morse and Anthony Hopkins

The post Check Out the Trailer For The Virtuoso Starring Starring Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish and Anthony Hopkins appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.

Exclusive: Class is in session for Quinta Brunson’s ABC school comedy pilot. Tyler James Williams (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), Janelle James (The Comedy Lineup), Chris Perfetti (The Night Of), Lisa Ann Walter (The Parent Trap) and Sheryl Lee Ralph (Instant Mom) round out the series regular cast, joining creator, star and exec producer Brunson in the pilot from Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker, Warner Bros. TV and 20th Television.

The Untitled Quinta Brunson pilot (fka Harrity Elementary) follows a group of teachers brought together in a public school simply because they love teaching. They will rely on one another to make it through the day and find a way to counteract the school district’s bullsh*t attitude toward educating children.

Brunson stars as Janine, an optimistic new second-grade teacher with much to learn. Williams plays Gregory, a substitute-turned-permanent teacher at the school. James is Ava, the school’s spirited new principal.

Following on from James Gunn revealing the poster for the upcoming ‘The Suicide Squad’, the movies first trailer has landed for our viewing pleasure.

The part-sequel/part-reboot will see Rick Flag, Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and Harley Quinn armed and dropped into the enemy-infused jungle island of Corto Maltese.

With militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission while Amanda Waller’s techies track their every movement and threaten to kill them if they get out of line.

The film’s cast includes Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, and Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang all reprise their roles from David Ayers 2016 offering. Additional cast members include Idris Elba is playing Bloodsport, Alice Braga is playing Sul Soria, Pete Davidson is playing Blackguard, Michael Rooker is playing Savant,...

No one can chew up a scene like Anthony Hopkins playing a villain. And though the Academy Award winner is earning buzz now for his Oscar-nominated turn as an aging patriarch in The Father (making him the oldest Best Actor nominee ever), Hopkins proves that he can still send a chill down our spines if he […]

The post ‘The Virtuoso’ Trailer: Anthony Hopkins Wears Sunglasses and Orders Assassinations in This Action Thriller appeared first on /Film.

Assassin movies are a dime a dozen but once in a while one comes along that feels like it might be a little better than your average and The Virtuoso looks like it might just fit the bill.

The new thriller, directed by Nick Stagliano, stars Anson Mount as a professional assassin who finds himself in the middle of an assignment gone wrong. As if that's not enough, he's now dealing with his aggravated boss, played by Anthony Hopkins, and he finds himself in the middle of a mystery - which may or may not be connected to the hit - thanks to a chance encounter with a woman (Abbie Cornish) and the local sheriff (David Morse) who may also be hiding a secret.

Admittedly there's a lot of balls in the air here, perhaps more than really necessary for the movie to work,...

Lionsgate Movies has launched a new trailer for the thriller ‘The Virtuoso’ starring Anthony Hopkins and Abbie Cornish.

Danger, deception, and murder descend upon a sleepy country town when a professional assassin (Anson Mount) accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic mentor and boss (Oscar® winner Anthony Hopkins). Given only where and when along with a cryptic clue, the methodical hitman must identify his mysterious mark from among several possible targets, including a local sheriff (David Morse). Meanwhile, a chance encounter with an alluring woman (Abbie Cornish) at the town’s rustic diner threatens to derail his mission in this noir-style cloak-and-dagger thriller.

Directed by Nick Stagliano from a screenplay by James C. Wolf, the film also stars Anson Mount, Eddie Marsan, Richard Brake, with David Morse.

Also in trailers – Sarah Paulson stars in chilling new trailer for ‘Run’

The movie has a limited US theatrical release, On Demand and...

"We're killing machines - it's what we do!" Lionsgate has released a trailer for an action thriller titled The Virtuoso, produced and directed by filmmaker Nick Stagliano. A lonesome stranger must track down and kill a rogue hitman to satisfy an outstanding debt. But the only information he's been given is a time and location where to find his quarry - 5pm at a rustic diner in the dying town. No name, description, nothing. When the assassin arrives in there are several possible targets, including the county sheriff. But the danger escalates when an encounter with a local woman threaten to derail his task. The film stars Anson Mount as "The Virtuoso" and Anthony Hopkins as "The Mentor", with Abbie Cornish, Anson Mount, Diora Baird, Eddie Marsan, David Morse, and Richard Brake. This looks like another of these derivative been-there-done-that hitman films. This is a slick trailer, I'll admit that,...

Exclusive: Lionsgate has picked up the North American and U.K. distribution rights to noir thriller, The Virtuoso, starring Anson Mount (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), Abbie Cornish (Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan), and Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins (The Father). Directed and produced by Nick Stagliano, the film is slated to be released in theaters and on-demand in Q2 of 2021.

James C. Wolf wrote the screenplay. Hopkins stars as The Mentor, the head of a sophisticated group of highly skilled assassins. And at the top of them all is a hitman (Mount) who is the very best at what he does – not merely a professional, but a true artist, a virtuoso. Tortured by a past job gone wrong, and to satisfy an outstanding debt to The Mentor, The Virtuoso accepts a new assignment – but he’s given no name or photo, only a code word and the information that his...

Henry Loevner, Steven Kanter directed film about couple going through break-up during pandemic.

Jason Moring’s Ddi has come on board to launch worldwide sales at the EFM on BuzzFeed Studios’ pandemic comedy and upcoming SXSW selection The End Of Us.

Henry Loevner and Steven Kanter directed the film about a couple going through a break-up during a global pandemic.

It is the night of March 10, 2020 – the eve of the California lockdown – as out-of-work actor Nick and his type-a girlfriend Leah are in the throes of splitting up.

When the safer-at-home order ushers in a long period of quarantine, Leah...

Joseph Baxter Feb 20, 2020

Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins headlines biopic Cus and Mike, set to play Mike Tyson’s legendary trainer, Cus D’Amato.

Anthony Hopkins is set to bring his Oscar-and-Emmy-winning repertory skill set to the boxing ring… well, a ring-adjacent location, anyway, set to play trainer Cus D’Amato, in a developing fact-based film project about how the legendary prepper of pugilists molded one fighter in particular, Mike Tyson.

The launch of Berlin's European Film Market (Efm) has yielded a most intriguing project from Patriot Pictures, a biopic titled Cus and Mike, which, as revealed by Deadline, will have Hopkins headline as the titular trainer. The film is set with The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes, who will work off an original screenplay by Desmond Nakano, based on Montieth Illingworth’s 1991 biography, Mike Tyson: Money, Myth, and Betrayal.

Knighted Welsh legend Hopkins’s role as D’Amato – who wrought two-time heavyweight...

Exclusive: Ray Donovan‘s Eddie Marsan is set as a series regular opposite Leslie Mann in The Power, Amazon’s 10-episode global thriller drama series based on Naomi Alderman’s feminist sci-fi book, from Jane Featherstone’s Sister (Chernobyl). Reed Morano (The Handmaid’s Tale) is directing and executive producing The Power, which will premiere worldwide on Amazon Prime Video in over 200 countries and territories.

Adapted for screen by Alderman, in The Power, all teenage girls in the world develop the power to electrocute people at will. It’s hereditary, it’s inbuilt, and it can’t be taken away from them. Coming alive to the thrill of pure power: the ability to hurt or even kill by releasing electrical jolts from their fingertips, they rapidly learn they can awaken the Power in older women. Soon enough nearly every woman in the world can do it. And then everything is different.

Rachel McHale, Minor Childers, Michael Milillo serve as producers.

Jason Morning’s Toronto-based Double Dutch International (Ddi) has acquired worldwide sales rights to redemption drama Walkaway Joe starring David Strathairn and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and will launch sales at next week’s Afm.

Tom Wright directs from a screenplay by Michael Milillo (Churchill). Julie Ann Emery and Julian Feder also star in the redemption story of a teenage boy and a drifter, set against the backdrop of New Orleans pool halls and rural Louisiana.

Rachel McHale (I Hate Kids), Minor Childers (Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events) and Milillo serve as producers.

Exclusive: Rocketman actor Jamie Bell and Ruby Rose, who plays Batwoman in the CW’s DC series, are set to voice animated feature Cranston Academy: Monster Zone. Now in post-production, pic is the story of Danny and Liz, two rival geniuses attending a secret school for child prodigies. When one of them accidentally opens a portal to another dimension and unleashes a slew of monsters, they must put their rivalry aside to save the school.

Double Dutch International is handling sales and will be repping the project at Afm.

Leopoldo Aguilar (Monster Island) is directing. Producers are Fernando De Fuentes, José C. García de Leton and Greg Gavanski. The project is set for delivery this fall.

Carl Bunker and Bob Barlen (Escape From Planet Earth) penned the screenplay. Feature is an Anima production (Ana & Bruno) with Prime Focus (Lego Nexo Knights) in association with Fifth Dimension Films.

“We are big fans of Jamie and Ruby.

Eddie Marsan, David Morse, Richard Brake, and Diora Baird are aboard as the supporting cast of The Virtuoso, a modern day noir thriller directed and produced by Nick Stagliano. They will play opposite previously announced stars Anthony Hopkins, Anson Mount and Abbie Cornish as the occupants of a sleepy, small-town diner, to which The Virtuoso (Mount) is sent to find and execute his latest mark, as directed by his “Mentor” (Hopkins). Without a name or description of his intended victim, the Virtuoso cannot immediately identify or eliminate any one of them as his assigned target, including the establishment’s waitress (Cornish). Stagliano’s Nazz Productions financed the project, which is being introduced to buyers at Cannes. Fred Fuchs, Nancy Stagliano, and Chris Bongirne serve as executive producers. Double Dutch International is overseeing international rights,...

Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins, Anson Mount, and Abbie Cornish are set to star in The Virtuoso, a noir thriller directed by Nick Stagliano. Stagliano’s Nazz Productions financed and produced the film, which will be presented to buyers at Cannes.

Written by James C. Wolf, with revisions by Stagliano, the story follows a professional assassin (Mount) who must track down and kill his latest target to satisfy an outstanding debt to his mentor (Hopkins). Unlike his other “jobs,” this assignment offers precious little information. He’s given no name or photo, only that his target will be in a rustic diner in a dying town at 5:00 Pm. Bound by obligation, the Virtuoso embarks on a manhunt to find his prey and accomplish the mission. Any one of the patrons in the diner could be the mark,...